So I've been thinking...

I'm very thankful for mass media. It has it's advantages and disadvantages, but in the context I'm thinking of, I'm thankful for it. I have grown tremendously as a Christian thanks to the preaching available on the radio, and on websites like desiringgod.org and gty.org. I used to drive to and from work and hear R.C. Sproul, John Piper, John Macarthur, and Allistair Begg everyday. It was men like Steve Lawson that inspired me to preach, and reading sermons by Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, D. Martin Lloyd Jones, and John Owen helped bring my mind even closer to God, and gave me a true appreciation for His Word.

I am in seminary to learn how to preach and teach God's Word. TMS is known for training expositors, and by God's grace, that's what I'll be, but it's not what I want to be known for. The simple fact is this: If people want to hear great preaching, they have a plethora of resources available to them, from the comfort of thier own homes, at anytime they wish. I haven't checked the facts, but I am convinced you could listen to four hours of solid, excellent preaching a day, and still not exhaust the wealth of exposition that exists in digital media after several years, or even several decades. If you want to hear John Piper's series on justification at 3AM, your a mouse click away. Along with that, we have more resources in printed form that has been developed over the last 2000 years of church history. These books have been written by brilliant men on just about every subject conceivable, and while I would never suggest that we have been given enough time to plumb the depths of Scripture itself, nor do I want to discourage people from continuing that tradition, I will say this...

Before anything else, we need to be shepherds. We shepherd our family first, and then our flocks. We prepare people for the work of the ministry. It reminds me of when Satan took Jesus to a high mountain, and said, "All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me" If anyone deserved the world, it was Jesus, but the cost was too great. Jesus choose a life of humility. He chose to be a shepherd, a good shepherd, "who lays down His life for His sheep." It seems silly when in our weakness we desire the praise of other people. It's as if we forget that we have God Himself who walks with us. God equips us, enlightens us, enables us, and empowers us to do all things for His glory. And He does it so we can pass on His legacy, not ours.